Various studies on Asmat ethnicities tend to focus on carving art and cultural richness of wood. Since the malnutrition and measles affecting children under five in this area from September 2017 to mid January 2018 has opened the eyes of international communities that the sustainability of Asmat tribe is questioned. Various scientific analyzes explain that the mass death of children resulted from low health culture, the less supportive environment, and the difficulty of providing health services to isolated areas. It implicitly says that the people, culture, and environment of Asmat tribes are the main causes of this disease. It is as if the Asmat people and culture and the geographical situation are the cause of this disease. Therefore, this article aims to describe the epidemic from a social and cultural perspective, namely the low social resilience of the Asmat. The research method is conducted by using literature studies and a focused discussion in Jayapura. The theoretical framework used is the ecological and cultural approach to viewing the sustainability of a community to be able to cope with environmental change. The argument of this study is to save Asmat tribes in the extended period only by restoring them to their habitat and reducing the dependence on the food consumption provided by the market. Results of this study indicate that the underlying cause of Asmat outbreaks is the gratuity of Asmat people from their ecological habitats so that they depend on the food provided by the market.

[15] Gunnestad, A. (2003). Resilience – a new approach to children at risk in the Southern African Situation. In A. Gunnestad (Ed.), Children’s Rights in Early Childhood Education in Africa and Norway (pp. 45-59). Trondheim: Network for Preschool Teacher Training and Preschool Development in Southern Africa. (view)

[16] Gunnestad, A. (2006). Resilience in a Cross-Cultural Perspective: How resilience is generated in different cultures. Journal of intercultural communication, 11(1). (view)